Old Testament History Study Guide
Two Major Parts of the Story of the Pentateuch – Part 1 – first 11 chapters of Genesis – creation – the fall – Judgment – part 2 – begins to answer questions – The Genres of the Pentateuch – prose narrative – law – ancient poetry – prophetic revelation – Prose Narrative – most of the Pentateuch – direct, 3rd person – Ancient Poetry – parallelisms – repeated phrases/themes across multiple lines – Prophetic Revelation – foretelling of future events – exposition of current events – Law – The History of the Pentateuch ancient history if very difficult to date – most debated date in Pentateuch is day of the Exodus – Maps Think about how God chose to transmit the Bible throughout history. If He desired to do so, He could have created special paper and ink that would never fade or be destroyed. He could also make ink instantly change language based on who was reading the Bible. He could have even provided a commentary on the Bible that explained all of the difficult questions that readers have asked throughout time.
Knowing none of these happened, I want you to think about the following question: Why do you think God didn’t do all these things? I believe that God didn’t do all of these things because believing in Him is a faith thing. He does not want us to have everything written out for us. He wants us to choose the right path and believe in him. I also believe that God didn’t do all of these things because He thinks it is more meaningful for a man to tell a man about Him. This is shown by him sending down His son in human form to tell us about Him.
– meaningful – they are Just things! – humans to deliver word – faith thing – make choice – man communicates with man – more meaningful than Just words on paper.
